Churchill is known as the polar bear capital

There are three places in the north where, at the right time of year, you are nearly certain to see polar bears: Wrangel Island, north of Siberia, very hard to reach; the ice fields near Svalbard, the archipelago far north of Norway, by chartered yacht, okay if you have lots of dough; and our own Churchill, Man., which rightly calls itself "the polar bear capital of the world." It is the choice of an amazing number of people whose dream is to see a polar bear.

During the famous "bear season" - about six weeks in late fall and early winter - hundreds of these magnificent animals congregate in the Churchill area. It is the largest concentration of polar bears in the world. Last year more than 10,000 tourists came to Churchill for that marvellous adrenalin-surge nearly all experience when they see their first "wild" polar bear.

The thrill and fascination are understandable. These bears are special. They are huge, white, powerful. They are the iconic animals of the Arctic. A long-term study carried out by the zoologist Desmond Morris showed that the polar bear is one of the world's 10 "most popular" animals. The greatest love of our 2-year-old grandson is his plush polar bear pal called "Po". When he visits us, Po comes along and Owen falls asleep with the bear cuddled in his arms.

The sad thing is that when Owen and your children and grandchildren grow up, they probably will no longer be able to see polar bears in the wild. By then, if present climatic trends continue, there may be only a few small pockets of polar bears left in the remotest regions of the far north.

In many languages, polar bears are called "ice bears" - "Eisbär" in German, "isbjørn" in Danish. It's an apt name. They are the highly specialized seal hunters of the circumpolar ice. The equation, consequently, is simple and fatal: no ice, no ice bears. Global warming is causing the polar ice to recede rapidly. In 2007, for the first time in memory, the normally ice-choked Northwest Passage was ice free in summer. Very good for shipping. Very bad for ice bears.

Churchill (population just under 1,000), on the west coast of Hudson Bay, has much to offer. In spring, summer and fall, it is a birder's paradise. Here three major biomes meet: the boreal forest, the treeless tundra and the coast. More than 250 species of birds breed in the area or migrate through it. With a bit of luck, you may see one of North America's rarest birds: the delicately pink-tinged, black-collared Ross's gull. Normally residents of Siberia, a few eccentrics with wanderlust have settled in the Churchill area.

In July, about 3,000 beluga whales swim into the great Churchill River near town, to feed, frolic, calve and talk. They are the most vocal of all whales. You can watch them from shore, large pods of glossy-white whales surging past, and you hear them grunt, chirp, scream and whistle. You can see them even closer from one of the many whale-watching boats.

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Churchill is known as the polar bear capital

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